Types Of Espresso

Part IV: Espresso Glossary D To Z

This is Page 4 of a four-page article; here, types of espresso. Click on the black links below to read the other pages. You can find general coffee terms in our Coffee Glossary, and tons of great food information in our other food glossaries.

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DEMITASSE

A cup that holds a traditional shot of espresso is called a demitasse, 3 ounces or smaller. Thick porcelain is the preferred material for its ability to hold heat, although demitasses can be made of delicate porcelain, ceramic, glass or stainless steel.

DOUBLE or DOPPIO

More than double the typical one ounce pour. A double is usually between 2.5 and 3 ounces of espresso.

DRY CAPPUCCINOA cappuccino with a small amount of foam and no steamed milk.

ESPRESSOThe coffee beverage produced by an espresso machine. Technically, espresso is a beverage made from 7 grams of finely ground dark roast coffee, that produces 1.5 ounces of extracted beverage under 9 bars of brewing pressure at brewing temperatures of around 190°F to 200°F, over a period of 25 to 30 seconds of brew time. In Italy, people don’t order an espresso; rather, they order “un cafe,” which is de facto an espresso brew.

ESPRESSO DOPPIO
A double shot of espresso; doppio is Italian for “double.”

EXPRESSOA colloquial (and incorrect) spelling of espresso.

EXTRACTIONThe act of forcing hot water though ground coffee. This “extracts” flavors, oils, colloids, lipids and other elements that turn water into brewed coffee.

Extraction happens when hot water is forced through ground coffee. Photo courtesy Krups.

FLAT WHITE
The flat white, a variation of a cappuccino made with microfoam instead of regular foam, was invented in Australia in the 1970s. It is made with a single or double shot of ristretto topped with microfoam, steamed milk with small, fine bubbles and a velvety consistency, made possible by modern milk foaming technology (which also is responsible for barista art). It is made in a smaller cup than cappuccino, thus delivering a higher proportion of coffee to milk (similar to a cortado). It was introduced in the U.S. by Starbucks in January 2015. In order to allow the coffee flavors to dominate, it is used with a shorter, stronger pull of espresso, known ristretto. Unlike the thick layer of foam served with a cappuccino (and to a lesser extent, a latte), a flat white has a thinner layer of microfoam.

LUNGOAn extra long pull (over-extracted shot), about 2 to 3 ounces, that allows approximately twice as much water through the same amount of coffee normally used for a single shot.

Have a caffe latte, or latte for short. Photo by Eduoard Muoy | SXC.

MACCHIATOSee latte macchiato, above.

MICROFOAMMicrofoam is created by the steam wand of a professional cappuccino machine, used to foam a pitcher of milt. The combination of the crema atop the cup of espresso and the velvety microfoam allows patterns to be made with the foam (barista art). Other types of mill steamers and foamers do not create the tiny bubbles required for microfoam.

Microfoam enables the creation of delicate designs in the foam. Photo courtesy Hi Line Coffee Co.

MISUGARU LATTE A multigrain “latte” drink introduced to the U.S. by the Korean coffee house chain Cafe Bene. High in protein, it’s a a healthful drink made from a fresh-ground or pre-packaged powder of barley, black sesame seed, black rice and brown. The flavor is nutty, with flavor nuances of oatmea and peanut butter. The texture is grainy.

MOKA POTOriginally a manual, stovetop method for making strong coffee, although today electric versions exist—many of the inexpensive ($50 to $100) consumer “espresso machines” are essentially steam pressure moka pots. Often referred to as an “espresso machine,” it is not one because it does not use high-pressure steam technology (a typical moka pot brews using 1.5 atmospheres or bars of pressure, modern espresso machines use roughly 9 atmospheres). A traditional moka pot brews by forcing hot water through a bed of coffee using the pressure of steam that builds through hot water boiling in the lower half of the pot. Here’s more information plus the history of the moka pot.

A moka pot. Photo courtesy SXC.

OVER-EXTRACTEDEspresso that tastes bitter or burnt, as a result of the ground coffee being exposed to the brew water for too long. Send it back!

PULLA term used to describe brewing a shot of espresso: pulling an espresso, pulling a shot, espresso pull, et al. Its derivation is the action used to prepare espresso in machines from the 1950s and beyond, where the barista pulls on a lever to cock a spring in a piston group on an espresso machine.

Pulling an espresso. Photo by Mark Prince | Wikimedia.

RED EYEA shot of espresso in a coffee cup that is then filled with drip coffee. Also called an Eye Opener, Depth Charge, Hammerhead and Shot In The Dark. A Dead Eye, also called a Blue Eye, has three shots of espresso. A Crazy Eye has four shots. A Blind Eye has five or more shots. Also see black eye.

RISTRETTO An espresso shot pulled short to produce a richer, more intense espresso. The term literally means a “restricted” shot. Most double espresso shots are 2.5 to 3 ounces and use 14 or more grams of coffee grounds. A ristretto uses the same amount of coffee but creates only 1.5 ounces of espresso in the normal brewing period of 25 to 30 seconds. This is hard to do, and requires a very skilled barista. In France, this is known as café serré.

SHOTA term for a brewed espresso.

SINGLE
A single shot of espresso, 1 to 1.5 ounces of coffee (a double is 2.5 to 3 ounces).

SPECIALTY COFFEE
A term coined in 1974 to describe high-quality beans that score 80 points or more on a 100-point scale. In other words, the finest premium coffee.

THIRD WAVE
The third wave of coffee is a current movement that considers fine coffee to be an artisanal food, treating coffee like wine connoisseurship. There is a focus on horticulture, growing regions, varietal qualities and single origin (and single farm!) coffees. The term was coined in the U.S. in 2002, and refers to the creation of a “coffee culture” in the U.S. in the 1990s (but with roots dating back to the 1960s). The “first wave” began in the 19th-century with a surge of branded coffee like Folgers in every household. The “second wave” was the proliferation of premium-roasted coffee in the 1960s by Peet’'s and then Starbucks.

UNDER-EXTRACTED A coffee bed that has not been exposed to enough passing water. The resulting brew is often weak and thin-bodied.